Cotton-harvester.



l W. T. ACOIVUSB..

COTTON HARVESTER.

APPLICATION FILED PBB.21,1908.

Patented Feb. 8, 1910.

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COTTON HARVESTER.

APPLICATION FILED 312.21, 1908 948,846. Patented Feb.8, 1910.

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COTTON HARVESTER. APPLIQATION FILED 111ml, 190e.

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lUi'vi'ini) STATES' iD anion.

WILLIAM T. COMER, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIHA.

COTTON-HARVESTER.

I Specification of'Letters Patent.

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Application filed February 21, 19 08. Serial-No. 417,0/79.

To all Vwhom 'it may concern: y

VBe it known that I, WILLIAM T. COMER,

a citizen of the United States, residing at- Atlanta, in the county of Fulton and State of Georgia, -have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cotton-Harvesters,

of which tle following' is a specification,

reference being had therein to the accomjointly upon a specially constructed pickerhead and picker, by which the cotton is detached from the boll and conveyed through a suitable passage or tube to any convenient or desirable receptacle, the mechanism being so constructed and arranged that the picking power propels the harvester through, over and among the cottonplants.l

'In the accompanying drawings, Figure l, is a side elevation of a harvester embodying my invention. fFig. 2, is a top plan view thereof.4 lFig. 3, is a longitudinal section through the picker-head, taken `at right angles to the axis of the rotatable picker. Fig. 4, is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig'. 5, is a detached perspective of the rotatable picker. y f v In carrying out my invention, I provide a motor vehicle'upon the frame or platform 1 of which is mounted the propelling and pickingpower, together with their coperating parts. This platform is supported at its front end by means of suitable steering wheels 2 which vare controlled by-a steering -wheel 3, 'through the medium of achain 4 operatively connected with the shaft 5 of A the steering wheel in any desired manner.

The rear end of the machine is supported upon suitable propelling wheels 6, and these propelling wheels are driven in the. manner to beA presently explained.

Mounted upon the platform, preferably I at its rear end, is one or more portable engines 7, preferablyV of the gasolene air-cooled type, and these engines are located at opposite sides of the rear end of the vehicle, and have a common crank-shaft 8 extending across the vehicleand connected with the "pistons of the engine in the well known way. 4

Mounted upon the front end of the vehicle is one orv more exhaust or suction fans or devices 9. Preferably there are two of such devices, and they are located at 'opposite sides of the front end of the vehicle for a purpose which will appear hereinafter. A. driving shaft 10 for these exhaust or suction devices 9 extends across the vehicle andv has its ends connected with the exhausting device, and this shaft carries a'suitable pulley `11 which is operatively connected by means of a belt 11a with a relatively larger y pulley 12 carried. by theengi-ne shaft 8,

whereby the suction devices are given a` rapid rotation. Mounted upon the platform or frame of the vehicle, preferably at a point between the engines and .the suction devices, is an air compressor 13, of any suit.- able and desired t pe, but here shown of the reciprocating orm, and .this air compressor is operatively connected by means .of its pulley 14 with a pulley 15 of the engine shaft through the medium of a belt 16. The compressor 13 forces the air into' an air-receiving or compression tank 17, from which the compressed air'passes to the picking devices in a manner which will be hereinafter described.

A propelling shaft 18 extends across the vehicle approximately at its center, and carries on opposite ends the sprockets 19, which are operatively lconnected by means of chains 20 with the sprocket wheels 2.1 which are secured to the driving wheels 6. This propelling shaft is operatively connected with a shaft4 22 by means of the well kno'wn worin gear which is located in a suitable housing 23, and the opposite end of the shaft 22 is connected with the engineshaft by means lof suitable gearing locatedA within a gear-box 24, the constructionbeing such that the propelling wheels 6 are Slowlyrotated. 'A suitable seat 25 is located adjacent -tlie 4steering wheel 3 for the person' who is to guide the vehicle.`

The arrangement of the parts is such that aA plurality of picking devices 26 are located at each side of the vehicle, and these picking devices are provided with suitable handles 27 by means of which the operator can carry.

` number of pickers, and projecting fromv plurality means of pipes 29 and 30. Extending from and in communication with these compressor heads 28 are a pluralityingt'flexible tubes 3l, the number of tubes corresponding with the each of the suction devices 9 are a of iiexibl tubes 32 which correspond in number to the number of tubes communicating with the compressors 28. A compressor tube 3l, and a suction tube 32 are connected with the picker 26, to provide an air blast and a suctlon to each-of the pickers 2o in the manner which will be now explained.

\Having reference. now particularly to Figs. 3 tov 5 inclusive, which Villustratejthe picke on an enlarged scale, as compared with that shown in Fig. l, it will b'e seen that the Wer end ofthe picker-head 26 is open, and hat located within this pickerhead is a rotatable picking device or wheel 33. As illustrated herein, this rotatable picking device consists of an axis 34 which has cone-shaped recesses 35 receiving the cone-shaped bearings 3(3i`which are adjustable through the wall of the picker-head Radiating from the"axis 34.\are a suitable numb/er ofpicker-bladeqnvhich carry on their ends suitable picker teetli`38, and just back of these picker teeth 38 the blades are preferably curved, as shown, to form airpockets into and acainst which the compressed a'ir is directet. By reference to Fig. 3, it will be seen that the compressed air 1s tangentially 'directed against the blades of this picker at one side of its axis, through a suitable nozzle 39, and that the suction through the tube 32 acts taneentially on the picker lat the opposite side or its axis. This picker Wheel is actuated and propelled by the combined action of a positive blast of air received under pressure at 011e side oi axis, and by the action oi the draft of suetion at the opposite side of its axis. By ret'- erence to Fig. 3 it will be observed that the edges of thc blades which carry the picking teeth move upward through the peripheral arc' at the outer end of the picker case,` engaging the eottonand carrying it upward into the case and over to the mean center of suction, at which point the cotton is cleared or removed from the teeth of the wheel by the force of suction and carried through the flexible suction tube to and through 'the exhauster 9 and escapes therefrom through the .outlet tube 40 which is located just above a suitable step or platform -il upon which a person maystand with a bag or other receptacle to receive the cotton, or upon which a suitable receptacle for -the cotton' may be supported. e

-I `lesire itunderstood that the Vsuction devices and compressors may be operated singly or in couples, and that the numberand size thereof will depend upon the capacity of the appa `atus in which they are to be incorporated. z

I amHaware that the broad principle of cotton picking by blast and suction through picker heads applied by manual direction is known in this art, but in such instaucethe arrangement of the parts has not been that here shown, nor has the blast and suction been applied in the manner which I have herein shown and described, and by means of which I have eiiected a highly practical picking mechanism which is found in actual practice to be extremely effective.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Let-ters Patent, is

1. A cotton picker comprising a picker rase, a rotatable picker therein, and means it'or delivering -a blast of air at one-side of the axis of the picker, and a suction draft at the opposite side of its axis.

A cotton picker comprising a picker ease. a rotatable picker therein, and means tor delivering a blast of-air tangentially thereto at one side oi the picker axis, and a suction draft arranged tangentially thereto at the other side of its axis.

A cotton picker comprising a picker case having an open outer end, a picker wheel journaled therein and carrying pickerteeth at its' perij'ihery, thecase having a bla-st air passage arranged at one side of the axis of the wheel. an air blast producing means tor said opening. a separate suction opening at the opposite side of the axis of the Wheel, and a suction tion opening.

et. A cotton picker comprisingv a casing, a picker wheel therein, said casing having an open outer end and two ojienings in its inner portion arranged in a line transverse and at opposite sides of the axis, of said wheel. and means for causing suction't-hrough oncopcning and an airblast through the other opening.

A. cotton picker comprising a vehicle, a motor and air compressor mounted thereon and operatively connected, a compressed air-receiving chamber mounted thereon, a compressed air distributinr head having comnmnicatimi with said ciamber, a plurality ot picker tubes separately connected with-said head. the outer ends of the tubes being open, aml revolving pickers located in the open ends ot' the tubes and operated by compressed air.

6. A cotton, picker comprising a vehicle,

)reducing means for said suci e j an air compressor, separate compressorheads tivelywith the compressors and exhausters l0 Vlocated atopposite sides of said vehicle, at their respective sides of the 'vehicle for separate air exhausters located at opposite thel purpose described. sides of the vehicle, picker casings and a In testimon7 whereof I affix my signature 5 picker-Wheel located Within each casing and in presence of two Witnesses.

transversely journaled therein, the casings VILLIAM T. COMER. having compressor and exhaust openings ar- Witnesses: ranged at opposite sides of the axis of the T. I. VoGT,

' picker-Wheels and in communication respec- C. N. BnRGsTRoM. 

